Giovanni da Verrazzano letter transcription facsimiles

This collection contains photographic facsimiles of an undated manuscript transcription of a 1524 letter from Giovanni da Verrazzano (also known as James Verrazanus) to King Frances I of France upon Verrazzano's exploration of the Atlantic Coast of the United States in March through May of 1524. Among other accomplishments, Verrazzano was the first European explorer to enter New York Harbor and the Hudson River. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which connects Brooklyn and Staten Island, is named in his honor. This copy, obtained by the Long Island Historical Society in 1905, was the first known verbatim facsimile of the document in the United States.

The facsimiles were obtained by historian Arthur James Weise, who also wrote a description of the facsimiles' provenance that is included in the collection. At that time, Weise was working on a project to document early Brooklyn history under the auspices of the Committee on Brooklyn History, which was founded by the City of Brooklyn and later continued by the City of Greater New York, always under the supervision of the Long Island Historical Society. Weise notes in his description, dated November 20 1905, that the committte had authorized him in June of that year to obtain the facsimile photographs of the manuscript transcription of the letter, which was held at the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Florence, Italy.

The items are accompanied by an LIHS bookplate noting that they were presented by Alfred T. White, who was a member of the Committee on Brooklyn History. They were originally housed in a metal box covered with red and blue marbled paper and labeled in Weise's handwriting.